Diane Abbott to seek Labour’s Mayoral nomination

Diane Abbot says she wants to be Labour’s candidate for Mayor. Image: Birmingham Museum and Art GalleryLabour MP Diane Abbott has confirmed that she plans to put herself forward to become the party’s 2016 candidate for Mayor of London.

Ms Abbott, currently MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, says if selected she’d run on a platform of challenging “anti-immigrant propaganda”.

Last month she told an audience at the LSE that Londoner’s didn’t want a “glove puppet” of the Labour leadership as Mayor and today said “London needs a genuinely independent candidate” who would speak up for the city.

She joins other declared candidates transport expert Christian Wolmar, Tottenham MP David Lammy and former culture secretary Dame Tessa Jowell in the race.

Last week a YouGov poll for the Evening Standard put Ms Abbott in second place behind Dame Tessa with the support of 18% of Londoners and 19% of party members who say they’re certain to vote in the 2016 contest.

Speaking to ITV London, she said: “A great many people have been pressing me for some time to throw my hat in the ring and in the end I decided that because London needs a genuinely independent candidate, London needs a candidate that will fight to make London more affordable for ordinary Londoners.

“I also think London needs a voice that will stand up against some of the anti-immigrant propaganda that we’re hearing.”

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